研究生视听说听力材料.doc

Unit 1 Famous PeopleAs the owner of a small business selling software I find it hard to recruit good people in todays tight labor market and having got people on board, there is an equally, if not more difficult task of keeping them happy. Staff turnover is a real problem. Two years ago our staff turnover at Epmus plc was out of control. We were consistently losing staff across the spectrum from clerical workers to senior managers, But our real worry was the skilled technical people who were leaving us. They comprised a bulk of our work force so we brought in a group of consultants to help us figure out why they were leaving. It wasnt too difficult to see what had gone wrong. Getting new recruits to deal with clients without any specialist training wasnt a good idea. We were putting our staff in an unfair position, especially when they had to reach sales targets. Nor was the system of evaluating employee performance only once a year a good idea. It meant we won t pick up potential problems early enough. So having conducted our assessment we established a formal plan to retain the people who had worked so hard to recruit and hire. We laid out specific steps for communicating with our staff. Firstly, every year we close down the company and invite our entire staff to an off-site meeting. We talk shop and it gives us a chance to reinforce what the company vision is. It is after all essential that everyone is aware of where we are going and what we have to achieve. Then to build on this ground work, the session managers send e-mail messages every 3 months to describe any modifications there have been to that division, as the process took hold we noticed that doing this quarterly wasnt adequate. As a result i now have a meeting once a week with the managers who are directly responsible to me to review and revise their department goals. However, in my view, communicating the plan of where the company is headed is something let me down on a continual basis ever amid the often chaotic day-to-day undertakings of our fast-growing company. I think that this jogs to the memory or to be incorporated into every CEOs usual interaction with their staff. Our staff turnover rate has fallen to just over 30 percent this year which we were very pleased with. And the steps we took might prove useful to other entrepreneurs. There are key things that need to be done. For example, set up meetings every 3 months or so with your most important personnel and use these occasions to provide feedback, and talk about any problems the staff may have. In addition, make sure new recruits are put through a proper 2-week training period and spend time with a mentor who has been formally delegated to look after them and answer their questions.Also when looking to retain staff, dont just focus on compensation. Bear in mind that when it comes to keeping people you need to show publicity that you value their contribution. There are also other methods of rewarding staff who stay with you, such as stock options and in the long term our goal is for all employees to be receiving these. Unit 2 Growing Pains Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind. It is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of deep springs of life. Youth means temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of 60 more than in a boy of 20. Nobody grows older merely by the number of years. We grow older by deserting our ideals.Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turn the spirit back to dust.Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human beings heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing childlike appetite of whats next, and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, courage and power from man and from the infinite, so long are you young.When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at 20; but as long as the aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there is hope that you may die young at 80.Unit 3 Sports and Games Play is very important for humans from birth to death. Play is not meant to be just for children. It is a form of freedom and connection that can tap into your creativity, and can allow you the chance to find your inner child and the inner child of others. I have collected the top five benefits of play here.Play can stimulate you to think differently. It can go against all the rules, and change the same old boring way of doing things. Walt Disney was devoted to play, and his willingness to oppose the common wisdom changed the world of entertainment. The next time you are stuck in a fixed and boring way of life, pull out a box of color pencils, modeling clay, glue and scissors, and invite your inner child out and break free. You will be amazed at the way your thinking shifts the new world of discovery.Playing can bring greater joy into your life. What do you think the world would be like-if every human spent time each day in play? I bet just asking you this question has brought a smile to your face. Play creates laughter, joy, entertainment, and a feeling of inner peace. Starting today, try to get 30 minutes each day to engage in some form of play, and watch your joy factor rise!Play is known to reduce stress. Studies show that, as humans, play is part of our nature. We have the need to play because it is instinctive and basic to human existence.With regular play, our problem-solving and adaptive abilities will be in much better shape to handle this complex world, and we are much more likely to choose healthy answers to challenging situations as they arise. It creates laughter and freedom that can instantly reduce stress and add a feeling of relaxation to our daily living.Play can stimulate the imagination, curiosity (18), and creativity. Research shows that play is both a hands-on and minds-on learning process. It produces a deeper, more meaningful understanding of the world and its possibilities. We begin giving meaning to life through story making, and playing out various possible situations.Unit 4 Culture and Corporate CultureSome of the best American companies today have turned themselves upside down. Theyve found the old top-down pyramid style management chart doesnt work. So theyve flipped the pyramid over, giving employees more say in what goes on. And it works, as evidenced in improved sales and earnings. Interested in inverting the pyramid in your operation? Here are some tips: Challenge employees to come up with their own better ways to do their jobs, You may be surprised at how valuable some of their suggestions are. Seek out ideas from everyone, not just those who have a direct involvement with the job, Sometimes good ideas come from unlikely resources. Treat employees with honesty and respect. Dont dictate to them if they are not going to have their ideas enacted. Explain the reasons that underline a decision or policy. Spread authority around. If the largest part of the pyramid is to be at the top, the top people should have authority. At one auto plant any worker who sees a problem can shut down the whole assembly line until the problem is solved. By giving employees more control over their work environment and more involvement in running their jobs, you tap into a valuable source of ideas and productivityand that pays off for everyone.Unit 5 Science and TechnologyRight Reverend Lord HARRIES (Member, House of Lords; Former Bishop, Oxford for the Church of England): Now you ask, what is the relationship between scientific theory and Christian faith? The simplest way of thinking is to say, well, theyre really answering different questions. Science is trying to address the question, how do things happen. And in answer to that, you get the theory of evolution. Things happened over millions and millions of years by a very gradual process through natural causes. PALCA: But Harries says if you ask why did things happen, then you get a completely different answer. Its the why of life that belongs in the spiritual domain. Harries says the problems some religions have with Darwin and evolution come from a literal interpretation of the Bible. And he says, while the Bible contains profound truths, its not word for word true. Right Rev. Lord HARRIES: First of all, take the issue of the age of the Earth. I mean, do people really think that the universe is only 4,000 years old where every science - chemistry, paleontology, physics, astronomy - every single science points with huge amounts of evidence to the Earth being billions of years old and the universe being even more billions of years old. So you just have to ask people, what do they make - do they think that the vast majority of scientists in every scientific discipline on Earth are liars?PALCA: In the beginning - in other words, in 1859 when On the Origin of Species was published, the church was uncomfortable with Darwins theories. But clearly, that position has changed. So much so that recently, a spokesman for the Church of England wrote an article saying the church might owe Darwin an apology for its initial resistance to evolution. The Rev. Dr. Malcolm Brown says some people misread his comments to say the church was, in fact, apologizing.Reverend Dr. MALCOLM BROWN (Director of Mission and Public Affairs, Church of England): I suggested than an apology might be owed, which is a slightly different thing. I dont have the authority to make it. My point was that by raising doubts about Darwin at the beginning, by getting our first reaction wrong, even though as the Church of England, we pretty quickly got OK with Darwin, we legitimized, to some extent, later movements, particularly in the States in the early 20th century, to raise creationism as an ideology and make Darwin a whipping boy.Unit 6 LiteratureThere are many theories about the beginning of drama in ancient Greece. The one most widely accepted today is based on the assumption that drama evolved from ritual. The argument for this view goes as follows. In the beginning, human beings viewed the natural forces of the world even the seasonal changes as unpredictable, and they sought through various means to control these unknown and feared power. Those measures which appeared to bring the desired results were then retained and repeated until they hardened into fixed rituals. As time passed some rituals were explained or veiled the mysteries of the rites. As time passed some rituals were abandoned, but the stories, later called myths, persisted and provided material for art and drama.Those who believe that drama evolved out of ritual also argue that those rites contained the seed of t